A Welsh View

Video: Powerful Mental Health Advert

[via]

Rebuilding Chrissy Steltz's Face

A fascinating and in-depth article/photo essay about a woman who has been fitted with a silicone "face" 11 years after an accidental shotgun blast blew away much of her face.

Man Exceeds Breathalyser's Limit

Police in New Zealand who stopped a man after he was spotted swerving on a road discovered just how drunk he was when a gave a sample of breath that exceeded the limit of the breathalyser.

The breathalyser was unable to give a reading because it only measured blood alcohol levels up to 2000mcg.

The man was blood tested, recording 2290mcg, nearly six times over the legal limit. [via]

The Man Who Couldn't Stop Hicupping

A short video preview of a BBC programme that airs tomorrow night about a man who hiccupped constantly for two years before finally being cured.

The Human Heart

You can view a larger version here.

Video: Bronchopleural Cutaneous Fistula

Until now I had no idea what a bronchopleural cutaneous fistula was and I probably could have done without knowing. If you curious to find out what it is, here's a video on YouTube (not for the squeamish). [via]

Friend Bites Man's Penis Off In Row

A  Polish man is facing up to 10 years in prison for biting off his friend's penis during a row. And not only did man bite off the penis, he swallowed it too!

'He began hitting me with a chain and then pulled down my trousers and started biting. It was agony,' he said.

X-Ray Shows How Man Accidentally Swallowed Scissors

These x-rays show a man who swallowed a four-inch long pair of nail scissors. How did he manage it? He was using them to clean his teeth!

Surgeons successfully removed the scissors. Link

World's Oldest Conjoined Twins

At 57, Ronnie and Donnie are the world’s oldest conjoined twins.

When they were born in 1951, doctors didn't think that they would survive the night, but they have managed to live extraordinary lives together.

The Sun has the full story and if you are in the UK you can watch a documentary about them on Channel 5 on March 18th.

Video: There Are As Many Creatures On Your Body As There Are People On Earth

Here's the evidence.

Nadya Suleman's Octuplet Pregnant Belly

This is what a woman who is about to drop 8 sprogs looks like. [via]

The Price of Piercing

A graphic from the Washington Post showing the length of healing time for all those piercings you may have.

Video: What Happens When You Blow A Broken Nose

World's Most Senior Tattooed Woman

Isobel Varley has spent the last 20 years (500 hours) tattooing her body and according to her website she is in the Guinness Book of Records as the most 'World's most senior tattooed woman'.

'I got my first ever tattoo in 1986 at 49 years old. Originally, I was only ever going to have one - a small bird - but I fell in love with it, and developed an addiction.' [via]

Crazy Image Even for X Ray Techs: Kid Takes Key to Eyeball!

I can imagine that not even x-ray technicians see stuff like this everyday. This X-ray shows how, during a fall, a car key penetrated the eyelid of 17-month-old Nicholas Holderman of Kentucky, reaching his brain. While doctors initially believed that the object had ruptured Nicholas' eyeball, another team of specialists later confirmed that the boy had sustained no permanent damage. [via]

Boy's Heart Grows Outside His Body

From Ananova:

Doctors in China are trying to treat a four-year-old boy whose heart is growing on the outside of his stomach.

Zhang Weiyuan's heart is covered in only a layer of skin under which it can easily be seen beating, reports the Northeastern News Network.

Zhang, of Hetai village, Panjing, has been taken to Shengjing Hospital, China Medical University, where doctors are weighing up their options.

"We are not sure if we can perform surgery to put his heart back, but we'll try our best," said a hospital spokesman.

Woman Wakes Up During Surgery

An Australian woman who was undergoing stomach surgery, woke up halfway through but was unable to alert doctors.

Rebecca Jones, 24, said she could feel every cut of the surgeon's knife during the operation last month but was unable to scream or open her eyes. She was able to move a hand but the movement was ignored.

She is considering legal action. Link

San Francisco Artist Looks To Replace Lost Eyeball With Webcam

A San Francisco artist, who lost an eye in a 2005 car accident, wants to replace her missing eye with a Web cam, and experts think it could be possible.

"There have been all sorts of cyborgs in science fiction for a long time, and I'm sort of a sci-fi geek," said [Tanya] Vlach, 35. "With the advancement of technology, I thought, 'Why not?'"

Link

Brain Piercing

Anyone for brain piercing? The aim of this extremely dangerous procedure is to invoke a feeling of euphoria by drilling small holes in your skull and then passing a metal ring through your brain tissue.

The whole procedure is carried under an anesthesia and after the ring is passed, it does not cause any pain. If you can find someone to do the procedure you can expect to pay around $1,000.

Man Sues Doctor For Stapling Shut His Butt

Last week we learnt about a man suing a hospital for having his penis amputated, this week the man suing for having his butt stapled shut!

Man Sues Doctors After Penis Amputated

A man is suing a hospital after he awoke from a procedure without his penis.

Philip Seaton, 61, went to have a circumcision last October as part of treatment for a medical condition. Seaton said when he woke up from the procedure, he realized his penis had been amputated.

Seaton has suffered mental anguish, pain, and has lost the enjoyment of life, according to the lawsuit.

I think most men would agree with that.

The hospital say that during the procedure they found cancer and removed the penis even though the patient had only given consent for a circumcision. Link (video report)

Street Dentists In India And China

If you are not a fan of going to the dentist, you should be grateful that you don't have to go to one of these.

11-Month-Old Baby Weighs 62lbs

Doctors in Colombia are trying to determine how an 11-month-old baby is already the weight of an average eight-year-old.

He has had several medical examinations carried out which suggest he may have a problem with his endocrine system. A cardiogram test has shown that he has the bones of an eight-year-old boy.

More photos here.

Video: Maggots In Boys Head

Definitely not one for the squeamish.

Update: This video of a homeless man with a maggot infested leg could be worse.

Thai School Offers Transsexual Toilet

A secondary school in Thailand's impoverished north-east has three sets of toilets. One for the boys, one for the girls and one for the boys who want to be girls.

The headteacher, Sitisak Sumontha, estimates that in any year between 10% and 20% of his boys consider themselves to be transgender.

"They used to be teased every time they used the boys' toilets," he said, "so they started using the girls' toilets instead. But that made the girls feel uncomfortable. It made these boys unhappy, and started to affect their work."

The introduction of the new toilets was welcomed by the transgender boys, who must wear boys' uniforms, but can use feminine accessories. [Link w/ video]

10 Things You Didn't Know About You

10 facts about you that you may not know including 'your skin has four colours' and 'your body position affects your memory'. [via]

Is There A Worst Way To Die?

How Stuff Works discusses. Self-Immolation and being covered in sulphuric acid rank up there. [via]

Baby Born With Extra Penis On Back

A baby in China has had an extra penis removed from his back. The child was born with the extra penis in Tianjin Childrens' Hospital in China's Henan province and was a result of fetus in fetu.

Doctors, who spent over three hours removing the extra penis on June 6, said he was fine following surgery.

Link (w/ image)

Elf Ears

This body modification is new to me.

Video: Extremely Thin

Ewww! [via]

Six Diseases You Don’t Want

Six weird sounding diseases that you don't want including Maple Syrup Urine Disease, Exploding Head Syndrome and Jumping Frenchmen of Maine Disorder.

Surgeons Remove 125lb Belly From Russian Woman

A Russian woman with a gigantic 125lb belly has undergone surgery to have it removed.

Natalya was overweight since 13, when she had hormonal disturbance. She tried all the existing diets, visited hundreds of doctors, but with no result. Years passed as her belly was growing larger and larger. Finally it became so huge that the woman literally had to stump it to make a step.

Oleg Strigin, the head of the department of surgery of the hospital, where the woman was rushed, said they don’t do such complicated surgeries often. He said there are 4 levels of the belly-growth: the inch of more than 4-inch length belongs to the 4th level. We’ve never seen the growth of 36 inches!

The growth-removing surgery lasted for many hours. The surgeons removed fat the weight of a grown-up woman!

Link

Father And Daughter Have Child Together

A father and his 31-year-old daughter have revealed on Australian TV that they are in a relationship and have a daughter together. The couple who had previously been found guilty of incest, had also another child together but it died.

This Australian news site has a short video interview with the couple and has posted a full transcript of the interview.

Video: Man Re-Grows Finger

This video is almost unbelievable. Using a 're-generative' powder made from pig's bladders, a man has regrown the tip of a finger that he lost 3 years ago. A transcript of the video is here.

French Doctor's Perform World's First Full-Face Transplant

French doctors had already succeeded in performing the world's first partial face transplant back in 2005 and they have now succeeded in performing the world's first full-dace transplant.

Pascal Coler - a modern-day Elephant Man - had been horribly disfigured by Von Recklinghausen's disease, a rare genetic disorder.

The controversial operation, which involved replacing Mr Coler's face with that of a dead donor, took 16 hours, and required tissues, nerves, arteries and veins being attached to the patient's face.

The operation has revolutionised his life and a year after the surgery, Mr Coler is now free of the disease that at the age of six saw tumours begin to grow on his face.

The Daily Mail has more photos.

France Rejects Disfigured Woman's Right-To-Die Plea

A French court has rejected a request from a 52-year-old severely disfigured woman for the right to die.

The coiurt decided to side with the prosecution which argued current legislation does not allow Chantal Sebire's doctor to prescribe lethal drugs.

In her appeal to the court, Ms Sebire said she did not want to endure further pain and subject herself to an irreversible worsening of her condition. She asked the court to allow her doctor to help her end her life.

Ms Sebire has said she will not appeal the decision rendered today and she would find life-terminating drugs through other means.

"I now know how to get my hands on what I need and if I don't get it in France, I will get it elsewhere,'' she said. Link

Disfigured Woman Begs French President For The Right To Die

A French woman who is badly disfigured by facial tumours caused by a rare and incurable disease has appealed to President Nicolas Sarkozy to allow her to die by euthanasia.

The debilitating disease is so rare that only 200 cases of the disease had been reported globally in the last 20 years.

In an interview with the Agence France-Presse news agency, former school teacher Chantal Sebire, 52, begged for the right to end the "atrocious" suffering inflicted on her by the disease which has rendered her face unrecognisable because of growing tumours.

"An animal would not be allowed to endure what I have to endure," she said from her home in Plombieres-les-Dijon in central France, asking French media and Mr Sarkozy to allow her a dignified death.

Ms Sebire told AFP that she suffered from a very rare disease called esthesioneuroblastoma, which attacks the nasal cavity.

It had left her blind and had robbed her of almost all other senses, leaving her in terrible pain.

"In 2000, I lost my sense of smell and taste, and then the tumour evolved and ate into my jaws, before attacking the eye socket. I lost my sight in October last year," she said.

The disease caused "atrocious bouts of pain that can last up to four hours at a time".

Link

Ivory Coast's 'Big-Bottom' Craze

A national dance craze in Ivory Coast has spawned a black market in treatments claiming to increase the size of women's bottoms.

The dance has been inspired by DJ Mix and DJ Eloh's hit song Bobaraba, which means "big bottom" in the local Djoula language. While the dance has been embraced by both men and women, DJ Mix says it was inspired by women.

In the sprawling Adjame market just north of the city centre in Abidjan, women sell "bottom enhancers".

"You need to inject this liquid into your bottom once a day," says a market trader, showing a vial of coloured liquid labelled "Vitamin B12".

Each vial costs $2. The label claims it is made in China.

If you do not like the sound of injections, the same amount of money will also get you a small tub of cream.

There is no description of what the product contains or how to apply it; just the words "Big bottoms and big breasts", and two illustrating pictures.

Local gynaecologist Dr Marcel Sissoko is sceptical about the concoctions.

"This medicine could be dangerous for your health because we don't know the ingredients. It's being used without a medical prescription," he warns.

Here's a video of Eloh and Mix's Bobaraba from YouTube.

[via]

Meet The World's Smallest Bodybuilder

At just 2ft 9in, Indian muscleman Aditya 'Romeo' Dev is the world's smallest bodybuilder.

Pint-sized Romeo is well-known in his hometown of Phagwara, India - for his ability to lift 1.5kg dumbbells - despite his overall 9kg body weight.

Every day, crowds flock to the local gym to the see the mini-muscleman in training.

Unlike many dwarfs, Romeo is well proportioned, with a head circumference of 15in and a chest measurement of 20in.

Romeo said: "I've been training as a bodybuilder for the last two years and by now I think I must be the strongest dwarf in the world. Link (w/ more images)

Video: Woman Falls Head-First onto a Knife... And Survives

[via]

Philip Morris to Launch New Mini Cigarrette

With more than 50 countries around the world now enforcing smoking bans and smokers not wanting to spending too much time in the rain outside pubs and restaurants, Philip Morris is launching a new "snack size" mini cigarette called Marlboro Intense.

The mini cigarette allows smokers to smoke their cigarette much more quickly than regular sized ones, but it still delivers the same amount of nicotine as the full-size version.

The new Marlboro Intense cigarettes are only 7.2cm long, which is shorter than the standard 8.5cm cigarette. It will be first tested in Turkey. Link

'Half-Deaf' Boy Regains Hearing After Cottonbud Pops Out Of Ear After 9 Years

For nine years, Jerome Bartens had to cope with the handicap of being half deaf.

Ever since he was a toddler, the 11-year-old had been unable to hear anything on his right side and doctors said they were unable to help.

Then suddenly the reason for his problems became clear - when the end of a cotton bud popped out of his ear.

His family believe that he must have poked the bud in the ear at the age of two and the tip must have broken off the plastic stem. Link

'Google Man' Recalls Nearly Everything

Brad Williams is like a human search engine - he can recall practically anything that he has seen, read or heard.

His extensive memory allows him to recall almost any news event and anything he has experienced, including specific dates and even the weather.

"I was sort of a human Google for my family. I've always been able to recall things," the 51-year-old said on "Good Morning America" in his first television interview.

Williams' type of detailed, exhaustive memory is called hyperthymesia and few known cases exist. Brad's brain scans are now being studied by neuroscientists at the Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory at the Univeristy of California, Irvine.

Eric Williams' is intrigued about the inner workings of his brother's mind. Eric Williams is in the process of making a documentary about Brad, appropriately titled "Unforgettable."

In the film, which hasn't been completed yet, Williams takes on a person who is Googling answers to 20 questions.

He answered 18 of them correctly and was 11 minutes faster than the searcher.

Read more.

The 70 Stone Woman

Renee Williams became the largest person ever to have gastric bypass surgery earlier this year after ballooning to nearly seventy stone – but died 12 days later.

The bedridden 29-year-old begged doctors to perform the operation when she became so large that she couldn't hug her two children.

Her astonishing size meant that the operating table had to be specially widened for the procedure.

The operation was successful and Renee lost four stone due to her reduced stomach capacity before dying of a sudden heart attack less than two weeks later. Link

"Doctors Cut Into Wrong Side Of My Head"

A life-saving operation on a man's brain had to be halted after they realised they were cutting into the wrong side of his head. As a result, Andrew Stedman has been left with numbness and scars to both the left and right of his skull after the surgery was eventually completed successfully in the correct place.

Mr Stedman, aged 46, said: "I had only just come round from the anaesthetic when the doctor told me what had happened.

"I was still confused at the time so I didn't fully take it all in.

"But when it eventually did register I realised just how crazy it was - it was almost like a joke.

"Surely it must have shown clearly on the scans which part of the brain they had to treat."

Link [via]

Video: Human Body Facts

Fascinating facts about us all. [via]

Man Drank 48 Cans Of Lager A Day

A court has heard of a chronic alcoholic who downed 48 cans of lager and two bottles of brandy every day! He had appeared in court after after pleading guilty to breaking into a neighbour's house and stealing beer and £25 worth of change. Since then he has reduced his daily intake to 30 cans a day.

he admits he still starts drinking lager when he gets up every day between 5.30 and 6.30am.

When he goes to bed in the early hours of the following day he takes four cans of Carling or Fosters lager to bed with him. He added: "I just need it now, I just need it in me."

Link

Baby Accidentally Flushed at Birth

A 36 year-old woman accidentally gave birth yesterday in a train traveling from Tai Dong to Tai Pei, Taiwan. The nine month old pregnant woman was in the bathroom when her baby was born and accidentally flushed down the toilet.

A rescue team at the next station managed to rescue the baby from the toilet after sawing a pipe in half. The baby survived the ordeal. Link

Video: Big Headed Child

A video of a child with a very large head. [via]

Back-To-Front Feet

A waitress born with back-to-front feet refuses to be classified as disabled and says that she lives a normal life.

Wang Fang, 27, of Chongqing city in China, was born with her feet facing the wrong way, but has learned to live with her condition without problems and recently refused a disability pension.

She said: "I can run faster than most of my friends and have a regular job as a waitress in the family restaurant. There is no reason to class me as disabled."

Click for a photo of her with her back-to-front shoes on. [via]